Freedom's price
by Windsong the Grovyle
Summary: Arcaeus decreed that Latios, Latias and Latian should watch over the three ancient pokémon of Hoenn. However Latian is soon sick of this and longs for freedom - but when he returns from an escape attempt, Rayquaza is gone - and Hoenn is doomed.


As the night drew in and cloaked the dragon perching atop Sky Pillar, he sighed. He was alone, though only in the physical sense, and so bored that he had to wake himself up periodically and glance down at the creature he was watching. But Rayquaza slept on, and the watching dragon felt like going down and tossing the great, coiled creature off the tower, to see if he'd wake up.

Yawn. _Wake the hell up, _Latian thought. Through his connection with his brother and sister, he felt similar strains of boredom. Latias was amusing herself by perching on top of the sleeping Groudon, lifting into the air and dragging her claws over the scarlet behemoth's hide. Latios was watching Kyogre, perfectly still. _Oh well, _thought Latian boredly. _Latios was always the serious one. _

And whose idea had it been to organise the Watch by colour? Of course, Latian the green Eon pokémon gets the green ancient, Rayquaza. Blue Latios gets Kyogre. And, since Rayquaza would only wake once the other two ancients were rampant, Latian would wait longest while his siblings flew free again.

Well, Latian was sort of free. He could fly away from the tower, but not very far. Like it made a difference. _"For god's sake, say something!" _he yelled at his siblings.

"_What do you want me to say?" _Latios could have been hovering right next to Latian, his voice was so clear. That was the great thing about linked telepathy. _"Tell me a story!" _begged Latian.

"_How about the one where we all die of impatience?" _Latios suggested quietly. Latian growled with irritation. It was getting cold, and that didn't improve his mood at all. He lifted off the rock he'd been floating about half an inch above and flew closer to the sleeping Rayquaza and hovered close to the dragon's horns, taking advantage of the heat emanating from the creature. The clouds of ozone blew around Latian like a living beast, tugging at his white and neon green feathers.

"_I'll tell you one," _offered Latias. She was flying higher – the volcano housing Groudon was too hot for her. _"Once upon a time there was a big, bossy pokémon called Arcaeus, and he decided that it would be safer to watch Kyogre and Groudon, because Dialga, his little time travelling pet, told him that they were going to awaken soon and kill everyone in Hoenn. So, he chose his three freedom-loving Eon pokémon and set them to watch. But the ancients never woke and-"_

Latias broke off, and through the connection Latian felt the ground shake. He lifted into the air, ready to speed to his sister's side – but then he remembered that he wasn't allowed. Similar alarm was rising from Latios.

"_Oh god," _she gasped, almost to herself, _"they made it. Those stupid red humans found the damn blue orb!" _She sent Latios and Latian images of the red-cloaked humans marching through the caves that riddled the side of the volcano. Invisible, Latias gasped with fear. And the earth shook again. _"Groudon's not going to be happy..." _she said quietly.

Latian alighted back onto Rayquaza's horns. Of course, now Latias got to go and tell Arcaeus, who had taken a fancy to the stupid pokémon of stupid Shinnoh and lived there. A short trip, but at least she got to a make it. And if Groudon was waking, then Kyogre was to wake shortly. And Latian would be stuck.

With a snarl, he launched a blast of his emotions, expressed as physic energy at the ground, creating a large crater. Of course, his siblings could go and fly free. He didn't blame them – he blamed Arcaeus. _Damn Arcaeus. _That was not the only reason he loathed the 'deity' pokémon.

Sure, the ancient pokémon, Groudon and Kyogre were powerful. So was Rayquaza. And all the others, including the Eon trio. They were _above _regular pokémon. But then along came Arcaeus, claiming to be the master of all, every type and so on. At the very start, his stories had sickened Latian, and he'd protested. "We rule equally," he'd argued, hoping that other ancient pokémon like himself would agree and listen. _But noooo, _Latian hissed inwardly, _those idiots practically coronated that trickster. _

But maybe Arcaeus was actually a deity, after all. No one had even heard of Palkia and Dialga before Arcaeus came. Maybe the white ancient pokémon had really created them, out of space and time, Latian mused. But still he doubted it.

Luckily, he wasn't the only one to. Back in Johto, a resistance was building. He had discussed joining it with his brother and sister. He liked the resistance leader, Mewtwo, far more then he liked Arcaeus. At least Mewtwo had a sense of _humour. _The white 'god' pokémon was all solemn and serious. He made Latios look as friendly and happy-go-lucky as Latias. That was something.

Latias was speeding towards the Sky Palace, where the great god himself lived. There was a teleportation port in the Palace, but Latias was flying, because she wanted to. She was so far away now that Latian only barely made out the boom as his sister broke the sound barrier.

"_Damn that stupid god-thing!" _Latian snapped at no one in particular. _"We should go up there and give him a piece of our minds! Together we can destroy him!"_

"_But he has the rulers of time and space on his side," _Latios reminded Latian slowly. _"But don't worry, you won't have to wait for long – Kyogre is stirring." _

"_Whatever," _Latian replied snidely. He missed flying. So much. _"How long have I been waiting now?"_

"_Only about five years," _Latios responded, with a hint of sarcasm.

"_That's right," _snarled Latian, _"Five years, when I could be soaring!" _Imagining the burst of speed as he flew faster then sound made him curse Arcaeus all the more. Suddenly he sat up, mind clear. He was quitting. Right now. His sky-blue eyes flicked down to settle on the green serpentine pokémon. "I quit," he said aloud. His throat rasped from all the months he'd been silent. "I QUIT!" he yelled suddenly. Rayquaza didn't stir.

"That's it! I've had it!" Latian rose into the air and manoeuvred himself so that he was levitating in front of Rayquaza's face. Not a glint of yellow was flickering in the dragon's black eyes. Nothing to show life, except for the ozone stinking up the place. Latian was dimly aware of Latios speaking to him calmly. _"You'd better not, bro," _he said slowly. Latian shook his head stubbornly. He felt Latios rise from the back of the slumbering Kyogre, perhaps to teleport to Latian's site, but he didn't get far. Through Latios' eyes, Latian witnessed the horde of blue-suited humans swarming into the seafloor cavern. The brilliant light of the red orb was shining in the hand of one. _"Please," _pleaded Latios as he flickered into invisibility, _"stay there! Guard Rayquaza!" _

"_Like hell I will," _Latian said, _"Rayquaza can look after himself." _

Latian glanced around the pillar. Once it had been spotless, a true monument to Rayquaza, but now it was tarnished. There were cracks everywhere, splitting up the floor, and rocks strewn around the place, though the white mist Rayquaza gave off hid most of this. Latian smiled to himself. He wanted to draw out the moment of freedom so that it would taste properly sweet. That was the way to do it. He flew slowly upwards, until Rayquaza was invisible among the mist, white in the black night. Already the clouds were gathering – Kyogre, who was the closer then Groudon to Sky Pillar, was waking. She, the mistress of all storms.

Latian rose above the clouds and pointed himself in the direction of Latios. He was going to go and see his brother. They were connected, and however nice it was to hear Latios' thoughts, it wasn't like seeing him in person. And then... well, Arcaeus was likely to send one of his tame hunter pokémon to go and punish Latian. Well, too bad. Latian was among the fastest of all pokémon, including all ordinary pokémon. Well, maybe Raikou could challenge him. Oh, and Latias and Latios. They were roughly equal, though Latios was the fastest by a tiny margin. He was the biggest – six feet high. Latias was four feet high, and Latian was five. So he would have no problem outrunning the little punisher team. But fighting them? He was powerful at special attacks and evading them, but otherwise there were much stronger ancient pokémon out there.

So, away from Latios, then. Latian didn't want to lead any hostile forces towards his brother.

Above the clouds, everything was dark and still. Latian flew up in a gently narrowing spiral, delighting in his new freedom to move. When was the last time he'd flown supersonic? Five years ago. With an eager expression, the white and bright green dragon shot forwards.

The miles melted away underneath him as he accelerated, faster and faster, the stars blurring and becoming streaks of light. It was beautiful – Latian had time to appreciate that. The dratted ozone cloud had often obscured the stars back at Sky Pillar. He pushed himself further, faster, until from the ground below he might have been a sparkling green comet, the crystalline edges of his feathers refracting the light and blurring his outline, faster, faster...

"_What are you doing?" _It was Latios' voice. He didn't sound angry, but slightly amused. Well, it was obvious to Latios that his impatient, snappy brother would eventually fly free.

_Actually, _thought Latian as he streaked across the night sky, _the watching wasn't so bad. After this I might go back. It doesn't matter if I leave every couple of days, to do this. _Indeed, his boredom and irritation was melting away inside him, having been built up over the long years. The new exhilaration blazed inside Latian, lending him the final burst of power that pushed him into supersonic.

The triangular symbol on his chest, usually invisible against his green feathers, suddenly flashed, flickering between green and white, then settling into a soft white glow that intensified as Latian pushed himself forwards and punctured the 340.29 miles per second mark. He looked down at the curve of the earth below him, the cerulean blue of the islands, the verdant green of the forests... and the stinking, sludge grey and brown of the human cities. Latian didn't really mind humans, they were friendly enough, some of them. It was their buildings he detested.

The strobe of light on Latian's chest flashed and turned a clear, perfect scarlet, but Latian didn't need the warning. He swerved out of the way of the scintillating ruby meteor just in time, turned and followed her. Latias stopped so suddenly that he blew right past her. Her golden eyes were burning with the same passion that Latian was ablaze with, and the characteristic joking glimmer, along with a shadow of worry. He banked to the left sharply, performed an enthusiastic barrel-roll and drew level with her. Her own Eon symbol was glowing emerald.

For a couple of minutes the joy of being reunited with a third of his being left Latian preoccupied, as well as his sister. They circled each other in an ever narrowing spiral, until they could have touched. Latias reached out a hand and grasped Latian's. Then the two fell from the sky, wings slicked back until they were like darts, arrows that pierced the clouds so quickly that their own slipstream pulled along their very own personal cloud to surround them as they plummeted. The ground, once so far away rushed up to meet them. Latias, her eyes closed in a blissful expression, began the spiral, pulling Latian along with her. They cleared the clouds and the moonlight struck their sparkling wings, lighting them up, so that they left green and red trails behind them in a double helix.

They halted, drawing apart, though Latian still held one of Latias' hands in his. The free hands were stretched out, to hold the hands of the third of their family - but he wasn't there. Latios should have been there – they both felt that piercingly. As it was, they couldn't complete their fantastic greeting without him. They broke apart and climbed slowly back into the safety of the clouds. They were breathing heavily, but not from fatigue – the air close to the ground was far to dense for fast flight. When they finally broke through the growing thunder-cloud, hovering on the spot, Latias broke the silence, tone cutting with concern.

"Latian? What happened?" The worry in both her eyes and mind intensified. "Has Rayquaza.."

"Nope," Latian told her, raising his wings and circling her curiously. There was a shadow in her body. Something had happened to her. "I decided to quit, but now I think I'll go back. This is just a break." She looked at him in disbelief.

"_Someone, please tell me what's happening?" _Latios asked from afar, making Latias smile. _"Well,_" she told the blue Eon dragon, _"I just met Latian. I need to follow the red humans, Arcaeus said."_

"Right," Latian said. He paused in front of her, blocking her way. "What happened?" He scanned her closely, deep blue eyes narrowed. She was holding herself wrong. One of her wings was lower then the other, even though they were both in the still position, wings horizontal. "You're hurt!"

Latias glanced around, as though someone would overhear them. Her fear was now palpable, her body was trembling from it. The spiralling dash from the sky had taken much more out of her then Latian. The moon graced her shoulders, and now that they were still Latian could clearly see a large gash tearing open her injured wing. Anger forced an involuntary snarl from Latian's throat.

Latias had finished surveying the surroundings, but she was far from reassured. She spoke in the silence and safety of her mind. _"I was attacked." _


End file.
